Gone
by Pandora151
Summary: Anakin wakes up after Geonosis to find a few things missing. (Warning: Character Death)


"Anakin?"

He groaned and shifted, head pounding harshly. Was he dead? It definitely felt like it. Though if someone was actually talking to him, it probably meant that he wasn't dead. Which meant that he should probably try to reply. He tried to give a clearer response, but all that came out of his mouth was a strangled moan.

"Here, drink slowly," the voice said, and then there was a cup being pressed to his lips. He drank greedily, suddenly realizing that his throat felt like sandpaper.

The cup was suddenly moved away from him. He opened his eyes and looked around.

"Padmé?" he rasped. She was sitting at his bedside, holding the cup. She wore a loose tunic and was staring back at him with no small amount of concern in her eyes.

He looked around and then realized he was somehow back in the Jedi Temple, in the Halls of Healing. But...

"How are you here?" he asked.

She smiled softly, though her eyes were a bit watery. "The Jedi Healers agreed to treat me here, and I think you would have wanted to see a friendly face," she explained.

Then Anakin remembered. Geonosis. The execution, the rescue, the _clones_. Following Dooku to the hangar only to be struck down quickly and…

Anakin took a deep breath and finally looked down at his arm. There was a stump. "I…"

"They'll be fitting you with a prosthetic very soon, Anakin," Padmé said. "Don't worry."

Her words seemed to do the exact opposite of what she intended. His heart began to race in his chest. How was he supposed to be a Jedi with only one arm? How was he supposed to _function_?

"Anakin, you need to calm down."

He heard her speak, but he was spiraling into memories and emotions he didn't understand. He was quickly drowning in sand, on Tatooine, finding his mother's body in the Tusken camp. He _killed_ everyone there, without mercy. But it felt like it wasn't enough.

"Ani!" Padmé shouted.

His breaths felt hot and heavy in his chest. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't…He didn't deserve to lose his mother like this. If Obi-Wan allowed him to go to Tatooine earlier and save her, then none of this would have happened.

With that thought, he took a large gulp of air. He was right. This was _all_ Obi-Wan's fault, and the fact that he wasn't here now spoke louder than his words.

"Did Obi-Wan think he had better things to do than be there for me?" he murmured finally. He instantly felt Padmé's shock cut through the Force almost sharply.

"Anakin, you shouldn't—"

"It's _his_ fault! I could have saved my mother, I could have stopped _this_ from happening!" he shouted, using his left hand to gesture at the stump on his right. "Why isn't he here? Does he truly not care?"

"Anakin, look at me," she said, even more softly.

He took another breath and turned towards her to see her eyes filled with tears. "Padmé?" he whispered, heart skipping in his chest at the sight of her sorrow.

"Obi-Wan _was_ here, from the moment we left Geonosis. He made sure that you were among the first to be treated. You were—for some time, we didn't know if you were going to make it, Ani," she explained, voice trembling. "He sat next to you for the whole time, monitoring you in the Force."

All the cold rage inside of him slowly fizzled out, leaving him empty and hollow. Anakin swallowed. "Where is he now, then?" he asked.

"There was so much chaos, Anakin. Many Jedi and clones were injured, and all the Healers were running around, struggling to keep everything under control. I had to leave for a while to contact the Senate, and I…" Padmé cut herself off and closed her eyes, tears slipping through her eyelashes.

His heart was now sinking slowly into his stomach. "Padmé?" he whispered.

"Obi-Wan was sitting here, and I was distracted. I—I _forgot_ that he was injured too. He's been sitting by you for over two days, and I never even noticed," she replied, voice shaking.

"Anakin, the wound on his leg, it…it cut through a major artery. For all this time, it seemed like it was cauterized, but I guess…lightsabers aren't that efficient," Padmé said. "It…it cut open, and…" She was overwhelmed by her tears.

Anakin's eyes widened. His voice was caught in his throat.

Padmé took a few deep breaths and wiped at her eyes. "Master Che took him into surgery," she continued. "Obi-Wan was…he had broken his ribs sometime before we arrived. The Healers were so focused on saving his arm and leg and making sure he wouldn't lose blood that they didn't realize it until it was too late," she whispered.

"Master Che said that they punctured his lungs, but he was using the Force to keep them at bay, to keep himself going, to make sure you would be okay, Ani," Padmé continued. "He must have stopped at some point during the surgery, and by then, it was too late."

She took a few more deep breaths, struggling to hold her tears at bay.

No.

 _No._

Anakin immediately clawed for the Force, reaching into the bond that he had with his Master, only to find broken and shattered pieces in his mind. The pain crashed into him full force then.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," she said finally. "Obi-Wan is dead."


End file.
